A recruiter from a top foreign bank had a rather bizarre experience at a management school recently. The candidate for the job interview, whom he had chosen from half-a-hundred r?sum?s, turned up in chappals and earrings.

No, he wasn’t making a “statement” of any sort. It was simply that he didn’t want the job. Under a peculiar system at some B-schools, if you get a job, you cannot apply for another until everybody gets placed. So if you are unfortunate enough to be selected to appear for an interview for a job you no longer think is at the top of your list, the only way out is to “demarket” yourself.

“I gave him the job,” crows the recruiter. “I know the systems and the responses as well as he does. I also made a final offer to a guy in a green T-shirt and Gandhi cap. Do they think we are that green?”

These B-schools may inspire such weird behaviour because of policies born in an era of job shortages. They continue today because of inertia.

More often, however, job hunters do peculiar things at interviews because they want the job and are trying to stand out from the herd. (They do even more peculiar things with their r?sum?s. But that’s another story.)

The first differentiator is dress. “People are hoping you will ask them why they are clothed like that,” says Raman Gupta, a Mumbai-based recruitment consultant. They will then use the opportunity to tell you everything about themselves. But it doesn’t normally work. If people want to stand out, and the relevant issues haven’t been raised during the interview, I would prefer a polite question at the end: ‘May I tell you why I think I am specially suitable for this job?’ That works better. And it doesn’t make you a clown.”

An HR executive at a top MNC talks about people coming with boxes of mangoes to offer as gifts. “When they feel it is not working out, some can go to any lengths,” she says. “They offer money. And there was this guy who said he would set me up in a penthouse with lavish perks when he became CEO one day. He didn’t get the chance.”

Jobseekers will do almost anything to stand out amongst the competition. “There is no length a candidate won’t go to and no line someone won’t cross in order to get a job,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice-president of HR at CareerBuilder.com, while commenting on a recent survey. “While some candidates’ efforts were impressive ? like giving Power Point presentations, distributing portfolios on CD and working for a day to demonstrate talents ? others’ were complete turn-offs.” One even came dressed as a cat.

So what are the alternatives? Do you conform and end up getting lost in the crowd? Or do you try and stand out and end up being rejected just because of that? Headhunters and HR executives say that it is better to err on the side of moderation.

“Yes, there is something to be said for being creative in your efforts to get a job,” says consultant Gupta. Suggests Marc Mencher in his book Get in the Game: “Start a newsletter and distribute it to the 100 most influential people in the industry.” When you apply for a job, it may be remembered.

The key ? and it is for you to decide ? is knowing how to stop before going over the top.

GAME FOR ANYTHING

Some of the weird things jobseekers in the US did to attract attention

• Wore a tuxedo.

• Brought a baby gift to the interviewer who was pregnant.

• Sat next to the hiring manager in a church pew.

• Left Yankee tickets for the interviewer.

• Sent a nude photo of himself to the hiring manager.

• Tried to do a stand-up comedy routine.

• Waited for the hiring manager at his car.

• Came dressed as a cat.

• Said they “smiled on command”.

Source: CareerBuilder.com survey “How to get in the front door”